How does one go about eating like a royal?
Well, if you were the late Queen then you would have had four small but square meals a day, and a glass of gin and Dubonnet.
The King, however, prefers to eat a mostly plant-based diet and skips lunch entirely.
At 74 years old, King Charles III is the oldest-ever heir apparent to accede to the throne in September after Queen Elizabeth II died, aged 96, at her Balmoral estate.
But with royal family members tending to live well into their nineties (the Queen Mother died at 101 years old and the King’s father Prince Philip passed away at 99), they are surely doing something right with their diets.
How many meals does King Charles eat in a day?
The King eats just two main meals per day: breakfast and dinner. In a list of 70 facts released by Clarence House in 2018 to mark the then-Prince Charles’ 70th birthday, the 20th fact on the list read: “The Prince does not eat lunch”.
Gordon Rayner, former royal correspondent at The Telegraph, once said that the King believes lunch is a “luxury” that interferes with his busy schedule.
What are the King’s favourite things to eat?
In 2020 Clarence House revealed that King Charles’ favourite brunch recipe was cheesy baked eggs.
Posting a picture of the eggs to Instagram at the time, Clarence House wrote: “The Prince has also shared one of his favourite recipes, Cheesy Baked Eggs, which can be made by using any number of our great British cheeses.”
The recipe includes spinach, cherry tomatoes, strong soft cheese, double cream, hard cheese and fresh basil leaves. It asks makers of the recipe to use organic ingredients where possible.
Also revealed in the facts about the King was that his favourite tea is Darjeeling with honey and milk.
The King also reportedly enjoys a boiled egg with every meal, specifically a coddled egg which has been boiled for about two to three minutes.
The egg is generally served on a side salad and the King reportedly mashes the egg into the salad to create a sort of mayonnaise texture.
King Charles generally follows a plant-based diet for dinner in order to reduce his carbon footprint. He told the BBC in 2021: “For years I haven’t eaten meat and fish on two days a week and I don’t eat dairy products on one day a week.”
Are there any foods the King doesn’t like?
Graham Tinsley MBE, former manager of the Welsh Culinary Team, told HELLO! magazine that the King doesn’t like chocolate, coffee or garlic.
The King also, apparently, won’t eat biscuits that haven’t already been pre-warmed to a certain temperature.
A royal source said earlier this year: “Charles enjoys cheese and biscuits at the end of many of his meals. Since he’s particular about everything, he insists that they be a certain temperature. The staff keeps a warming pan just to make sure they are hot enough for his liking.”
